Friday, December 1, 2017

Friday Link List

Waiting in a long line to carry out my civic duty: jury duty, to be exact! It was actually far more efficient than it looks.

Count this post as another attempt to get myself to share links and write something light, which my occasional "Sunday Reading" posts were supposed to be, but generally aren't. I don't mind that I'm a rather verbose and tangent-prone writer, and in fact, I've gotten substantially better at editing my own work over the years, but those traits don't play nicely with my ambitions to post more frequently.

1. // I commented on Dr. It Girl's recent closet tour to commiserate about the difficulty of finding new blogs to read. Because I'm kind of a dinosaur who still yearns for 2008-style blogging, it's pretty hard to find new ones to follow, especially as old favorites retire (which is totally understandable, but also makes me sad because, darn it, they were writing and sharing such cool things, and I'll totally miss them!). We both concurred about enjoying shopping diaries-type blogs, while noting the difficulty of finding ones that hit the right balance between sale finds and excessive affiliate-linking, which brings me to...

2. // ... Feather Factor's recent post, a nice, concise summary of one important takeaway from a book that might be up my alley and relevant to my sometimes challenging year. Although she and I shop at completely different price points and lead dramatically different lifestyles, I've always thought her blog did a wonderful job of balancing sale finds that feel very true to her style, as portrayed on the blog, with interesting, diverse content. I've been following for a really long time.

3. // This next one is a two-parter with advice that is incredibly relevant to so many things, though perhaps not always to law (which is a little too conservative and old-fashioned to allow for people to easily "hustle" in unconventional ways and have it pay off). While taking the leap with networking can work out beautifully, and is how a lot of people got their clerkships, in fact, in a lot of contexts (particularly in biglaw, if your credentials are already comfortably getting you in the door), it isn't always the best way to accomplish a goal. Nevertheless, most industries are not at all like law, and lawyers can also learn a lot from The Luxe Strategist's post on transitioning to a new industry without experience (she has a great story and worked super hard) and Sophie's post about knowing when to quit, either something that isn't serving your goals, or in one of her experiences, is a creeper situation waiting to happen.

4. // Stepping back to how I'm a total social media dinosaur (and heck, even felt that way when I once stopped following blogs for a while around 2009), I generally find Youtube quite... foreign and perplexing. I have the same issue with not "getting" podcasts because, for the most part, I don't really enjoy listening to people talk, I'd rather read. The recent hullabaloo with problematic content aimed at children (and/or containing children) and all the utter creeps that had been allowed to flourish in comments sections just... baffles me. It seems to me that Google/Youtube had no intention of acting on these problems (that people were reporting fairly frequently) until it went viral, which I believe started with this post on Medium.

I try not to be too judgmental about other people's parenting decisions, as seen from the limited perspective of what they share (people get so unreasonably mean and weird like in this recent, completely unrelated Corporette comment thread about biglaw, saving, and raising kids and how those three things are not fully compatible), but good lordy, what was that Toy Freaks channel even doing, and how does that get over 8 million subscribers? There's a Buzzfeed article that may explain better, but I also don't feel comfortable linking because they initially chose to screenshot the kids without blurring their faces. I'll admit, the internet had weird things back when I was young (remember Happy Tree Friends?) that could seem disturbing to an adult, but it all feels more innocent than some of what's around today.

Please note that this portion of the post contains affiliate links that could result in a commission, typically a few cents, for me if you click. Thank you for your support!

5. // I followed up my recent indulgent tea-related purchases with... even more indulgent tea-related purchases. I decided a 1 liter hot water kettle (again from Hamilton Beach, one of relatively few non-plastic kettlesthat size) was the right size, as any smaller would be a dinky travel kettle). I kind of missed my old one, which I remember heating a little faster and quieter, but 1.7 liters would have been comically large for my one-person setup. I also bought a slightly absurd quantity of loose-leaf tea around Black Friday, mostly just unflavored green teas because I am a creature of habit. They were stocking well-priced tins of The du Hammam by Palais des Thes at Macy's, which is a really lovely flavored green. Upon opening the tin (I'd had it at a restaurant, but never smelled the leaves), I wondered if I'd made a mistake because the vanilla scent was overpowering, but it brews with a nice, mild flavor.

If you have any blogs to share, whether your own or anyone else's, I'd love to read! I tend to be a very chatty, frequent commenter on any post that interests me, though with blogs I haven't commented on before, I'm a bit shy. Also, do you read Corporette? I'm a recent convert, because I like a constant, steady hum of online chatter and poring through a lot of reader comments (and am very sad that this kind of discussion is rare on personal blogs now!). People in the comments get so weird sometimes, though.

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About Me

I'm Xin, a late-20s attorney based in New York City. I write about anything that strikes my fancy, with a particular focus on fashion, shopping, personal finance, and trying to live a more minimalist, intentional life.

Nothing on this blog should be construed as legal advice. All the opinions I express are my own, and not those of my employer.

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